Turning the basement into a rec room or home office is a lot more cost effective in the current economy than moving into a larger home. And one study estimates that a basement remodel will recoup 85 percent of its cost upon resale. But for that to happen, a confined basement area should not only be dry, but also be mold and odor free. One step towards achieving those benefits is using an appropriate masonry waterproofer.

To block incoming moisture, UGL's DRYLOK Extreme is formulated to withstand 12 pounds/square-inch of hydrostatic pressure. The product is fortified with CleanGuard Biocide, an EPA-registered, solvent-free, water-based fungicide that protects the dry paint film with a broad-spectrum defense against film degradation and discoloration caused by mold and mildew. The product can be applied by brush, spray, or roller and carries a 15 year, fully transferable warranty. The UGL line is available from 2-step distributors in all 50 states.

DRYLOK Extreme has been certified with the “Green Wise” seal of approval to meet or exceed Green Seal's VOC requirements, and it is free of formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals. As a result, it is eligible for credit under LEED-H and other green building programs.

Before founding Earth Paint, Tom Rioux wasn't just interested in making environmentally friendly paints; he wanted to make painter friendly paints. As a former paint contractor himself, he knew first hand that some of the chemicals found in conventional coatings had a cumulative effect in the body. “When a painter goes in to spray, they're getting paint all over: in the eyes, on the hands, and most biocides will go through the skin,” he warns. “It's nasty.”

Just the same, Tom knew that painters would be reluctant to switch to a green paint if it didn't perform as well as the conventional paints they were accustomed to using. “I wasn't optimistic that you could really make good paints in a non-toxic way,” said Rioux, “but I made it my task to prove that you could, and that's what we've been doing.”

The biggest difference between Clear Skies, his company's all-purpose architectural paint, and one of the national house paint brands is the toxic materials.

“Keeping vinyl out was a start, but mainly it's the additives we set out to change: biocides, defoamers, crystaline silicates,” he decided. And those aren't materials you can just eliminate. For instance, without something performing the function of a biocide, a paint will just rot in the can and turn into a smelly mess. Through trial and error, Earth Paint found non-toxic alternatives to the petrochemicals, formaldehydes, and alcohols common in other formulas. “In our paint, all those materials are biobased, and it's really hard to do that and make those formulas work,” he said. “Our biocide came out of skin-cream technology, and it took us years to develop it.”

The low-VOC product line aims to go so green that its labels are made from unbleached paper.

Clear Skies is an interior/exterior paint that, according to Rioux, excels on fiber cement siding. “We were tested by a machine finisher here who compared our stuff to what he had been using. He wanted to see how it held together for stacking after the machine finishing, and it did well,” he told us. “Plus, it's self priming and it hides really well, so when you put Clear Skies on cement fiber it covers it in one coat and the second coat just fortifies it.” Clear Skies' anti-fade qualities also reportedly held up well in accelerated aging tests.

Of course most paint will be applied onsite, not by machine, and Rioux is sensitive to the painter's needs. “I was a paint contractor, so I know it's gotta be a fast moving, easy to roll out, spray on kind of paint,” he said. “The trim enamel in particular is made so that you can brush out a door and not end up with brush marks and lines.”

The line is manufactured in North Carolina and currently ships to dealers as far away as California. Merchandising aids include fan decks for its 1700-plus color system.

Ze-Vo Wow is a low-VOC latex interior primer packaged small enough to fit in a toolbox. It's ideal for use in multi-family or office maintenance applications where it can quickly touch up scratches, scuffs, and abrasions on walls, ceilings, or doors. With its built-in sponge applicator, no brush is necessary and there's no need for clean-up when the job is done.